By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After the shocking announcement made by the UP Fighting Maroons regarding their blockbuster acquisition, it was all clear that the boys in black and maroon are aiming for their long-sought UAAP trophy.
Included in the mega recruitment was Gilas Pilipinas point guard and pride of Iloilo, Gerry Abadiano who proved to be one of the most consistent guards in the UAAP juniors since the Kai Sotto era.
Abadiano was in charge of running the show for the formidable National University Bullpups and is a highly-touted recruit since his junior year in NU.
However, Abadiano will have to adjust to the collegiate level after finding himself as one of those who will have to fight for his minutes with holdovers James Spencer and newcomer Sam Dowd identified as one of Perasol’s main guard unit.
“Siguro hindi magiging madali lahat sa akin. As a rookie, syempre hindi porke’t ginagamit ka sa high school at malaki yung playing time mo, same din yung gagawin sa ‘yo sa college. Iba namang usapan sa college, di ba?” said Abadiano.
Looking at how stacked UP already is before NU’s Carl Tamayo and Abadiano’s arrival, it is still uncertain whether head coach Bo Perasol will trust the Ilonggo rookie or go with the more experienced Spencer.
Whatever the circumstances will be, the crafty guard who played for the Iloilo Sun Yat Sen and St. Robert’s International Academy in Iloilo will be grateful for the opportunity UP has given him and will stay laser-focused to get that coveted championship trophy.
“Always ko lang iniisip na beginner’s mindset. Kahit matagal ka na sa team, kahit ilang years ka na sa team, yung beginner’s mindset hindi dapat mawawala yun,” Abadiano added.
For Abadiano, it will always come back to hardwork and how a boy from the province earned that starting guard spot in NU and eventually come down as one of the best in the UAAP juniors.
“Nagumpisa kami sa NU, hindi naman kami agad nag-Team A. Kahit nung umakyat kami from Team B, hindi naman ganoong kadali at hindi pa naman ako yung nagli-lead talaga. Mahirap siya pero kailangan kong i-embrace kasi yun yung binigay sa akin na role ni coach Gold,” he explained.
